P.A.T.I.E.N.C.E.

If there is anyone out there who has never asked, plead, begged, sought, searched, implored, or screamed out for patience please leave a comment, I would like to meet you.

Looking back over 51 years, my patience quotient has been low, in most areas .  My history is littered with moments of actively seeking patience.  There is a definite increase that can be charted, signs of personal growth, as the years have passed and maturity began to take hold.  Noticeably, where there are high moments of spiritual growth my patience quotient grew steadily.

I'm not about to declare I have discovered the Fountain of Patience or give directions to it's mental location nor offer five steps to filling up your own patience quotient.

Sorry, not here, not now, not me.

The article Patience and Spiritual Formation by Bryan Belknap brought the patience quotient to mind.  Belknap points out that being patient is a large part of your spiritual walk:

• Paul meets Jesus on the Damascus Road and starts his first missionary trip evangelizing the Western world...approximately 13 years later. 
•  Noah receives divine boat plans and the flood comes...in 100 years. 
• Joseph's dreams about his family bowing down came true...after about 23 years

There is an excellent example in my own life.

•  In 1984 I felt assured by God that we would have a child, which indeed we did, in 1992.

At this moment I am trying to wait patiently for the answer to another prayerful request.  Remaining 'still and listening' has become a possibility as I've grown in my own spiritual formation.

Recently, I was given a task which raised my hopes that an answer may be close at hand.  Belknap's article dashed that hope with a spiritual nudge indicating there is likely substantial time to wait.

On my personal timeline there is another excellent example of allowing impatience to push me into a bad decision.  The time and heartache it took to straighten that move out was the most efficient of patience lessons.

I will follow the wisdom of Psalm 37:7 and Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him. There are excellent examples in my history that proves this is the best decision. 

Learning to wait patiently never ends. 

"Thank you God, for being patient with me." 

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